Republican infighting on full display on U.S. Senate floor

September 26, 2013|Reuters

By Rachelle Younglai

WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Republican infighting took anasty turn in the U.S. Senate on Thursday with Senator BobCorker accusing fellow conservative Ted Cruz of using thelooming fiscal deadline for self-promotion and to endear himselffurther with Tea Party groups.

Congress has four days left to pass a spending bill to keepthe government running. But traditional arguments betweenRepublicans and Democrats, and bickering within the RepublicanParty have delayed action for days.

While the unusual floor fight between senators from the sameparty focused on one temporary spending bill, it highlighted theintra-party fights raging among Republicans over everything fromnational security surveillance to immigration reform and howdeeply to cut into government social safety-net programs.

Corker, a Tennessee Republican, accused Cruz and fellowconservative Tea Party-backed Republican Senator Mike Lee ofUtah of not wanting to vote on legislation on Thursday nightbecause they wished to maximize their public exposure on Friday.

They "have sent out emails around the world and turned thisinto a show possibly, and therefore they want people around theworld to watch maybe them and others on the Senate floor,"Corker said on the Senate floor.

"That is taking priority over getting legislation back tothe House so they can take action before the country'sgovernment shuts down," Corker said.

Cruz's office defended the delay and said it was better thatthe debate play out in the full light of day so the Americanpeople know exactly what is happening.

"America will be watching closely which senators vote toallow Democrats to fully fund Obamacare, and the vote should becarried out in the open for all to see," Cruz's office said.

Earlier this week, Cruz, a first-term senator from Texas, spent 21 hours and 19 minutes talking on the Senate floor inwhat many Republican lawmakers viewed as a publicity stunt torail against President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law,popularly known as 'Obamacare.'

Although Cruz repeatedly warned his Republican colleaguesthat a vote to advance the Senate's budget bill was akin tosupporting Obamacare, he later voted in favor of advancing thelegislation.

"I don't think ever in the history of the Senate that we'vehad a 21-hour filibuster and then the person carrying out thefilibuster voted for the issue they were filibustering," saidCorker.

Many Republicans disagree with Cruz's and Lee's strategy ofusing the threat of a government shutdown to stop fundingObamacare, since they do not have the votes to approve the billin the Democratic-controlled Senate and Obama has said he willveto it.

But pressure from the two senators as well as outside groupsaffiliated with the conservative Tea Party movement led theRepublican-led House to pass a spending bill that included aprovision to defund Obamacare.

"It's my understanding that the reason you don't want tosend a bill over to the House who could possibly put in placesome very good policies for us here, is that you want theAmerican people and the outside groups that you've been incontact with to be able to watch us tomorrow," Corker said.

The Senate is expected to vote on Friday on a bill to keepthe government funded through mid-November. The legislation willthen go back to the House where Republicans are expected toattach other Republican-friendly provisions.